Improvement in ships or vessels for carrying liquid cargo



To all whom, lit may concernI self.

; tniftrd .N guinea @latent @Hire JOHN W. MARSHALLGILMAN'JOSIIN, AND NELSON eusrisor BOSTON,

AND OLIVER EDWARDS, `or BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.,

` Lcttc'rs Patent No. 97,787, dated December 14, 1869. 4

` yIMPROVEIlVIIIElllSIT IN SHIPS' O R"V'IETSSIFII'JSv FOR. CARRYING LIQUID CARGO.

The Schedule. referred tain these Letters Patent and making part o the same.

i Beit known that we,`JOHN W. MARSHALL, GIL- MAN JosLIN, and NELSON CURTIS, of Boston, in the county of` Suiiolk, and OLIVER EDWARD-s, of Brookline, in the county ot'Middlcsex, in the State et' Massachusets, haveiuveutcd a new Method of Constructing Shipsl Or Vessels for l Carrying M'olasses, or other Liquid Cargo; and we do hereby declare that the fol# lowing is a full, clear, and exactdescription ofthe same, taken ill connection with the accompanyingr drawings, making a part of this spcili'cation, in whichp y Figure 1-is a vertical longitudinal scction of the vessel 'and its cargo-tanks; i

Figure 2 is a plan of 4the deck, showing the tanks in dotted lilies beneath; Y

Figure 3 is a` transverse sect-ion through the hull .and tank, drawn to a larger-sealer and Figure 4 is a longitudinal section of a portion of the ship, showing the details ofthe tanks.

Our invention relates Vto `the construction of ships and vessels for the purpose of earryingmolasscs, or other liquid cargo, so that the same may be carried in bulk, in" suitable receptacles, and maintain a proper trim to the ship under the various conditions of sailing, and also'meet the severa-l conditions under which such cargo is carried. v

In the carriage -of molasses, in -casks, on board of' i vessels, in thel usual way, several serious difficulties are met with, each of which is a source of loss or ex pense inthe business, and to avoid which is the main purpose ,of this invention. .Some of these are as follows:

First, the cost of the casks and cooper-age oi' a cargo of molasses, at the place of shipment, is generally more than one-half of the cost of the molasses it- Sccond, the. loss Ofcargo, ti-om leakage and the staving ofthe casks, is nearly, on an averageten per cent. of the whole amount.

Third, the loss otcargo, from the running over of the contents ofthe casks, in i'roth, due to the genera-I tion of gas by lei-mentation, is often considerable in amount. v

it would be impossible to preserve the proper trim of the ship for sailing.

rl`hese several conditions, which more or less applyr to any liquid cargo, are met by the vesselhere-in de- `trally therein, and of such size and shape, that when entirely filled with theliquid cargo, the centre of gravity of the same will bear such a relation to the centre 4of gravit-y of the ship, and centre ot'. displacement,

that the cargo will properly trim the ship.

Our invention relates, in the` second place, to the Y manner of constructing the tanks, for containing the cargo, .and securing ythem to the ship, so that the tanks will be a material support to each other, and will also contribute greatly to the strength and rigidity of the ship; and consists in lin-ming the tanksby means of'a series of tight partitions, placed transversely between two longitudinal brulkheads, and a oor, and a ceiling or top, all made continuous, and extending the length of the cargo-space, ainl forming,V in effect, a large hollow girder, divided into compartments, which being attached to the floor-plates, or timbers, andthe deck of the ship, throughout its length, gives vto the whole structure great strength and rigidity. v y

Our invention relates, iirtlio third place, to the method of constructing the several tanks or compartments, so that they'shall be kept, at all times, completely i'ull, and at the'samc time permit thelexpansion and contraction of the contents, and the free escape of the gas of tcl-mentation; and consists in combining, with each tank, a rising-chamber, so called, which extends above the tank, and above the outer disk, a considerable distance, in which the surface ot the liquid is maintained, so that any expansion or contraction of the contents o f the tank will be received into .or supplied from this chamber, and the motions of the ship will change the surface of the liquid within this alone, which will be practically unimportant in thc-trim of the 'ship. ber also aii'ords a i'ee communication between the cargo and the' external air, for the escape of the gases of fermentation, and an opening, through which the cargo is received and discharged, if desired, while the height ot' the chamber above the deck enables it to act as a combing, and 'exclude the water that may come on board when at sea.

lln the drawings- And this chamv A represents the hull o the usual manner, and I B B, Src., a series of tanks, built into the vessel, and formed of the longitudinal bnlkheads C, thc bottom 1), which is secured to the upper edges of the floor-plates Afand the top E, all extending, continuf vessel, built of iron, in

'ously, the entire length of the series of tanks.

` them with the ship, gives to thewhole structure great strength and rigidity. p

These compartments communicate with each other, by mea-ns of' the valves Gwhich are each operated by means of a rocking-shaft, H, which passes out through a st11iing-box,on the side of the tank, and is operated by a lever, upon the outside, but any other usual kind of valve, for such purpose, may be used instead of this, if preferred.

Upon the top of cach tank is placed a rising-cham ber, I, the lower end of which is open into the tank, and through which opening free access can be had to the interior, when the cover J, of the chambers, is removed, for the purpose of stowing solid cargo therein or clearing them, or for any other purpose.

At the bottom of the chamber, a plate, K, may be placed, which serves as a floor to the chamber, through which there is free connnunication with the tank, to permit the gases and tiuid to pass by the same.

When the chamber is to be used as a.l1atch,the plate K'is removed, or it may he omitted entirely, if desired. y

The top of the chamber is closed, by the cover J, bolted on so as to be readily removed, and provided with a man-hole, J',and a small vent-hole, for the escape of the gas. v

Each rising-clm-mber is made of sufticient capacity to provide for the expansion of the contents of its tank by fermentation, or the contract-ion, by cooling or leakage, so that the tank shall bc kept, under all conditions, entirely filled.

The proportion of, the capacity of the rising-chamber to that of the tank shown, is `about one-tenth, which is regarded as sulicient for the most variable cargo, such, for instance, as molasses, but for other less variable liquids, a smaller chamber may be used; and the chambers may also be differently located, in rrelation to the tanks, and still attain the same result. A

As the tanks occupy all the middle part of the vessel, some provision, in connection with them, is necessary, for receiviugthc masts, and for this purpose, where the mast comes, the bottom of the tank is strengthened, and a mast-step is secured to thc same within thc'tank; and to preventthe escape of the liquid, where the mast passes through the top of the tank, a stuiiing-box is provided, as is shown at the main-mast, in tig. l of the drawing, by which a tight joint is made; or instead of this, a tight metal casing may bc secured to the mast-step, and to the top of the tank, within which the mast isplaced, as is shown at the forelnast of the same ligure.

L is a steanrpump, which connects with the aftertank, by means of which the con-tents ot' the tanks are discharged, through the pipe M, on deck, into any receptacle or conductor provided to receive them.

. The contents of the other tanks are led to, the pump through the valves G. But 'the tanks may be each provided with a separate pipe, leading to the pump, if preferred, by which each tank may be emptied independently of the others.

The pump is to be operated by a portable steamhoiler, placed in any convenient position, either in the hold or ondeck.

N N are hatches, letin Hush with the deck, through which access is obtained from the deck to the spaces between the sides of the vessel and the tanks.

By this construction and arrangement ofthe tanks, it will be seen that free access to all parts of the same, both inside and outside, is secured, so that they may be easily painted, and kept tight and in good order. And this arrangementof the tanks, at some distance from the sides of the ship, also' prevents any injury to the tanks from the impact or collision of the vessel with any hard body, which would indent its sides, and would otherwise cause the tanks to leak, and many other advantages, which it is not necessary to describe., I

The manner of using this invention is as follows:

A To prepare the "vessel f'or sea, if the outward trip is to be made in ballast, several of the tanks are to be filled with water, so selected as to give the vessel the proper trim, or the tanks may be filled with any other suitable cargo, which would be introduced through the rising-chambers, after removing their covers'l To prepare the vessel to receive a cargo of molasses, for instance, the man-holes J', in the covers, are opened, and a long wooden trough is laid upon the tops of the chambers, with holes through its bottom, corresponding with the man-holes ofthe tanks. On each side of v this trough is placed a long skid, upon which the casks in which the molasses is usually brought tothe ship, are placed, close together, with their bangs downward, so that a long row of them is being emptied at once,

l and the tanks are filled in avery short time, when the vessel is ready for sea.

If the molasses is in a state of ferment-ation when loaded, the rising-chambers are to be nearly filled, but for other cargo they might be tilled to a greater or less height, as would best trim the ship.

The horizontal a-reaof' the chambers is so small, in proportion to the contents ofthe tanks, that the change of the surface ot' the liquid in the chambers, from the motion of the vessel, docs not appreciably affect its trim, or make any swashing of the cr rg0 that is injurious, while, at the same time, the chamber permits such a free escape for the gas generated by the fermentation, that the foam will not accumulate so as to run over.

Vfl/Then the vessel has arrived in port, the cargo is pumped out by the steam-pump, and by a hose, or other conductor, led to a tank, or other receptacle, on shore, the contents ot' the other tanks being allowed to flow into the after tank through the valves Gr.

After the tanks are emptied, they are cleansed, by closing them, and admitting steam into them from' the boiler, by suitable pipes, and after they are cleaned, they are washed with 'lime-water, and painted, it' necessary,and to dry t-he paint hard, it is proposed to put stoves into them uml heat them up hot. By this means the tanks can be kept from corrosion and i'om getting sour. f

[t is obvious that tanks can be arranged in a similar nunmer in a wooden vessel, although it can-more readily be done in an iron one, but as regards the other properties of the arrangement, they are as applicable to tanks arranged in a wooden vessel as to the 'one shown and described.

What we claim as our invention, is-

l. The combination of t-he cargo-space or tank, either with or without compartments, with the hull of al vessel, when arranged centrally within the hold,

and at such distance from the hull as to be accessible on allsides, and. made of such relative length,breadth, y audheight, that when filled with "cargo, the centre of gravity and Weight of the contents will bear such re- -lation to the centre'of gravity andV displacement of the vessel as to load Vandtrin it, substantially as described.

2. The cargo-space,arrangedcentrally in thehnll,

i as described, and made with its sides longitudinally hers, as described, with the hull of the vessel, when vafford free communication between the interior of the `tanks and exterior of the hull, and as combings, to

pieventrthe influx of water that may come on board, as well as means of keeping the tanks entirelylled, substantially as described. Executed February 29, 1869.

J. W. MARSHALL. GILMAN J OSLIN NELSON CURTIS. OLIVER EDWARDS. lVitnes'ses:

FRANK ALLEN, WM. G.`HIBBARD. 

